standing on the shore (nils, paisely)

"If people were trying to find us," he mumbled, coughing heavily, "they would have by now. Your daemon can stop."

Henrik had been progressively coming to consciousness over the past few minutes, but finally remembered where he was and how they got there. He sat up, gripping his abdomen in pain. He wanted to just shake it off, to take Nils and run from this girl to save her from whatever trouble they might eventually bring her, but they were too hurt. They had to take her help.

"Do you live here?" he inquired. Maybe if they rested for the night, got some food in them if they were lucky enough, then he could leave her some money and they could quietly leave around sunrise...

Paisley wrote:"So you're not some escaped criminals from Adhbhar?"

Nils knew she was joking, but depending on how you interpreted the question, it could sort of be true. He was Adhbhar (though not from there,) had escaped from people, and had committed crimes, even if it wasn't willingly.

Paisley wrote:"I guess what I'm trying to ask is, do I need to worry about them coming to get us right now? Does my daemon need to keep circling us like some sort of hawk, or can he chill over here with us?"

Nils was about to answer that he honestly didn't know, but that it was probably okay by now, when suddenly Henri spoke up. Nils hadn't even realized he was awake, but felt a wave of relief that he was.

Chevron heard Henri's response, so she stopped her circular pacing and trotted over to the group in the little clearing.

"I'm glad you're awake," Paisley said, turning to Henri. "That means most of the pain is gone, hopefully." Looking at him, she wasn't sure if that was true or not. Ouch.

"And yes, I do live here," she told the brothers. She paused for a minute before continuing. Clio sometimes acted differently around her after she told them who she was, like they were afraid of her. "I'm actually the overloridian," she finished. There was no reason to lie, and maybe this way they'd relax a little. Even though both the men had acted as if there were no present danger, they were both very tense. Paisley didn't know how much it was true.

Paisley wrote: "That means most of the pain is gone, hopefully."

Henri let out a soft laugh, surveying the blood that soaked his body. Maybe the worst pain, he thought, but I doubt most.

When she admitted to being the Overloridian, Henri wasn't sure how to react.. This could be good, in terms of her having protection for herself, and could be bad -- was there a target on her back? He'd come into contact (and worked for) some very power-hungry people with horrifying agendas. Being seen with the two of them could make her life significantly worse if the wrong people were after her. The wrong people were already after them.

"Well then, it's a pleasure to meet you," he said with a respectful nod. "And I can't begin to thank you for all you've done." It seemed that asking to stay with her was even more risky than it had been when she wasn't the leader of an entire Eilemaiden.

Nils was pretty shocked when Paisley admitted to being the overloridian. The overloridians had always been kind of like this abstract concept to him. Like, he knew they existed obviously, but they had never really seemed like people. He never would have thought that this kind-hearted girl going out of her way to help them was actually one of the most powerful people in Amelia.

Was this a good thing, or a bad thing? So, okay, as the overloridian, she was probably strong and powerful. That was good. But she was also probably well-known, maybe even famous around here. That was probably bad.

She's helping us, though, Tanith pointed out. So either way we should be grateful.

Yeah...Tanith was right. Overloridian or not, she was going out of her way for them.

"Yeah," he agreed with Henri after he had thanked her. "No one's ever really done something like this for us before."

Paisley smiled at them. "Of course," she said. There had never been a moment in her mind where she would have just left them struggling on the beach. "I'm just on a backpacking trip. You guys are pretty far away from civilization, at the moment."

In fact, Paisley wondered how they had gotten over here. Unless you were from Nadar, maneuvering through all the jungle plants on this side of the island would have been almost impossible. She hadn't seen any disturbance in the brush, either.

"What are you doing over here, anyway?" Paisley asked, wondering if she would get a truthful answer.

That was a good question. One that Henrik wasn't about to answer, or let Nils answer.

"Ah!" Henri suddenly screamed, bending over more in pain. Whether or not he was a good actor (which he was) didn't matter much at this point, considering how much pain he actually was in.

"I'm sorry," he breathed. "We...we need some sort of shelter and rest. You said we're far, but...is there anything close? Any sort of hut or cabin?" He coughed and groaned in pain, wiping sweat from his forehead. He most likely had a fever, an infection could probably start any minute, and he hadn't even gotten a chance to really check out Nils to make sure he was okay.

He didn't have time to play pretend with this girl -- the Overloridian -- and there was no way he was about to tell her the truth.

"Oh shit! Henri!" Nils exclaimed when Henri suddenly screamed, doubling over with pain. He ignored Tanith's comments that maybe Henri was just faking it to avoid the question. It looked way too real to be fake. He wondered if Paisley could maybe use her eilemaiden to make some sort of shelter with it, like she had made that stretcher.

"Or...maybe you could make a shelter?" he offered to her tentatively. He felt bad asking when she had already done so much. He wouldn't have even asked if Henri didn't look so terrible. "If-if that's possible, I mean."

Paisley was already designing something in her head. "Just wait right here," she told them, hoping that they would be alright for a few minutes while she built something for them. She wasn't worried about them hobbling away, because she didn't think that was possible, but she was worried something would happen to them.

She walked into the brush, the vines and bushes sliding out of her way.

She came back about fifteen minutes later. "Nils, do you think you'll be okay walking over the path?" She had cleared all the plant stuff, but the ground still wasn't very level. It was too bad he was so hurt, or he could have smoothed out the ground himself.

She lifted the stretcher, and then Henri floated along, hovering a little above the ground. The stretcher went along the path in front of them, moving slowly so that Nils could keep up. After a short walk/float, the three stood in front of a decently sized hut that wrapped around a tree. Paisley was pretty proud of it, especially in being done so quickly.

"After you two get settled in, I can probably go find some healing plants," she told them, as they stared at the hut. Nothing that was spectacular or anything, but things that might help keep infection away. At least until they were well enough to visit a legit doctor.

Henrik was happy that the distraction had worked so far, but in no way had he actually expected it to work out.

"Wow," he breathed. "I'm impressed." He wished he could get off this stupid stretcher and walk around to take a look, but he wasn't really in control of that right now.

"I can't thank you enough," he said, turning his head to Paisley. "I don't know what we would have done without you."

Paisley nodded, accepting his thanks. They all went inside the hut, where Paisley quickly fashioned a few beds for the brothers. She left the two to chit chat while she collected stuff.

When she came back, Nils was passed out in one of te beds. Henri was propped up against the wall, laying on the other. She entered the hut quietly, not wanting to disturb the sleeping clio. She set the plants and stuff on some sort of shelf thing that extended from the wall.

"I'm surprised you're not passed out like your brother, she commented to Henri. His forehead was shiny with sweat. "I'm sorry it took so long, I couldn't find this certain plant." She held up something that probably looked like every other plant to Henri. "this'll make you feel a lot better. Hopefully it'll get rid of that fever.

The sun was just about to set, and the hit was dark except for a soft glow coming from the middle of the room. Paisley's camping lantern.

Henrik had been sitting, glancing at his brother every few minutes. He had a habit of checking to make sure he was still breathing.

Henrik was trying to remember the faces of those in the gang who'd attacked them. If he forgot them, it would be too late before he recognized them enough to run if they were to run into each other again. He couldn't risk that -- they had really messed Henri and his brother up this time. Things were getting worse. The people after them were getting more serious.

He looked up at Paisley as she came back in, and managed an appreciative smile -- his first real smile since they had been attacked.

"Thank you again," he pressed, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "Nils wasn't joking when he said no one has ever been so hospitable to us. We really appreciate your kindness and compassion."

Paisley smiled. "Then you haven't met many decent clio."

She set to work chopping the plants up and twisting them withher mind to collect all the healing juices. She brought a cup over to Henri. "It probably isn't going to taste very good," she warned with an apologetic smile. "If we were home I would have added some honey, but tere aren't many bees overthis way to collect from."

She handed him the glass delicately, making sure he could hol it with no problem. Then she grabbed some more plants an started making a salve for the brothers' wounds.

"If you're feeling better in a few days I think it would be a good idea or me to take you back to Western Nadar. A hospital visit and all tht," she told him.

Paisley wrote:"Then you haven't met many decent clio."

She has no idea, Henrik thought to Rian, who mentally chuckled in response.

He took the cup in his hands, sipping on the liquid. "I've had worse," he commented, laughing lightly. As soon as she mentioned the hospital, he looked to his brother again. He looked so peaceful, even with the blood and wounds -- the fact that he was sleeping and out of pain was a relief for Henrik.

"I'm not sure that's necessary. We heal up well when stuff like this happens. I appreciate the thought but I'm sure we'll be out of your hair tomorrow." He nodded, taking another sip of the liquid.

Paisley tilted her head a little. "Does this happen often?" She joked, thinking he was joking too.

"I'm not even sure you could get off the island with my help, right now," Paisley told him, when he declined the hospital. "The jungle around here is really rough, and goes for miles. And with your injuries, even if you were Ughdarras, I don't even think you could make it to the mainland."

Se looked back and forth between the brothers. She was worried about them. Something had definitely happened, and the fact that they wouldn't talk about it made her even more worried.

Henrik just laughed along with Paisley as she joked. Let's see how many of these questions I can avoid actually answering, he thought, moving on with the conversation.

"Well, we'll play it by ear then and see how things go." He was being as vague as possible, mostly because he didn't want to make any promises to her, but also because he really had no idea what would happen. He never did. Nothing was ever stable in the brothers' lives.

He glanced around the little hut. Where would they be, had she not shown up? He looked to the glowing light in the middle of the room. It reminded him of small fires that he had made for his brother because he was scared of the dark.

This was a really beautiful moment he was having here, and that was rare. So yeah, he'd play it by ear and see how things went, and he'd appreciate the moment now.

Paisley watched as Henri's eyes traveled around the hut. After giving it a once--twice over, his eyes landed back on sleeping Nils. She smiled.

"You two seem close," she said quietly. She'd considered them brothers in her mind, but wasn't sure if that was the case or not. They definitely at least looked related, with their similar faces and crazy hair. "He was really worried about you, while you were unconscious. How long have you known each other?"

Henri smiled warmingly as Paisley mentioned Nils' concern. He would have been the same way, had Nils passed out.

"We're brothers," he confirmed, "so we've known each other all our lives." He looked to Paisley, looking completely genuine and decently mentally stable and healthy perhaps for the first time since they'd met (bruises, wounds and all).

"We've always been there for each other," he started, pausing to think about all of the incredibly horrible things they had been through together, and also some of the better times. "I try to watch out for him, ya know? I'm usually more helpful than I was today, heh."

Paisley felt Henri's sincerity, and it made her own heart warm. The love in the room was evident, and it just made her trust the brothers even more. "That is so sweet," she told him. She realized after it might seem mocking or something, but she honestly meant it.

She still wanted to ask about how they had showed up here, and what had happened to them, but she knew that wasn't going to get her anywhere. It seemed the men had told her just as much as she was going to know. And even though she had offered them medical attention, they still wanted to get away from her as quickly as possible. Paisley couldn't imagine what they had been through to feel that way.

She had finished mixing the salve, so she brought the bowl up to her nose to smell it. It wasn't the best smelling in the world, but it would have to do.

"This'll draw any infection out of your wounds," she told Henri. "Do you mind if I put it on you?" She would have let him do it, but she wasn't sure if he'd be able to move around enough to get all his slices.

Henrik looked from Paisley to the mixing salve, still dumbfounded by her eagerness to help them. He nodded in a way that signaled his willingness to have her put the salve on, looking at the wounds that traveled across his body.

What would they have done, had she not come for them? He would have passed out and his brother would have been left alone. He could have bled out, right then and there. Nils would have had to watch him die.

He owed this woman his life, and probably Nils' too. He looked to her as she started putting the salve on his skin. For the first time, he really examined her features. Her skin looked soft, young. There was something about her, this innocence, this willingness to trust the two of them when they were obviously involved in serious danger -- somehow that was reflected in her eyes. Her skin radiated this sense of comfort and warmth that made Henrik feel it too.

He was so used to Nils' and his own torn, rough, worn skin that reeked of death and cruelty. His own reflection in the mirror forced on him harsh memories that terrorized him in his dreams every night.

He took a second to really appreciate the goodness that this woman was showing them, a goodness he had never seen before. He smiled softly, completely honored to have her with them, even if it would only be for a short time.

As Paisley was coating Henri's fresh wounds with medicine she noticed that his entire body was also covered in scars. As an overloridian she had seen many things, and as such she had trained herself to keep a straight face even when looking at horrible things. Her horror was locked inward as she ran her hands over Henri's marked skin, knotted with scars from the past. Her face remained calm, but her eyes flicked up to Henri's, in shock. When she met his eyes, she noticed he was staring at her.

She flushed, her cheeks growing warm.

"All finished," she told him. What horrible things had happened to this man?

It made Chevron nervous. He stayed at the door, his tail flicking in the moonlight.

A FEW DAYS LATER

Henri was outside the make-shift hut that he, Nils and Paisley had been staying in for the past few days. He and Nils were preparing to start traveling again, which meant they were preparing to leave Paisley. Even after all the help she had given them, and the joy she had reminded them existed. Henrik had almost forgotten for a few days what life he and Nils' were leading. Always running, always distant. Never close to anyone. But that was how it had to be. This was the best thing that he and Nils could do to repay Paisley for everything she'd done: leave and never look back.

Maybe you'll run into her again, Rian thought hopefully.

For her sake, I hope we don't, Henri replied.

"Do we really have to leave?" Nils asked Henri for probably the third or fourth time since Henri had declared they were leaving. He didn't disagree with Henri's plans very often, but he felt like they had a pretty good thing going here. They were comfortable, they had food and water, and they had Paisley. No one had ever been as nice to them as Paisley was. Not to mention she was an overloridian, which meant she could probably help protect them.

But at the same time Nils knew that Henri always knew what was best. If he said it was best for them to leave, then they should leave. Henri's plans were what kept them alive, while Nils' plans usually tended to get them in trouble. That's why he had learned to just go with whatever Henri wanted.

Still, though...he didn't want to leave.

Petra sat in a small wooden boat, propelling herself at high speeds towards Nadar Island. She was on a mission, and nothing was going to stand in her way. Her boss had finally given her the task she had been dreaming of getting for years; tracking down the Selway brothers. Up until now he hadn't trusted her with the job, but after a recent setback he had finally realized that she was the best clio for the job. And she was ready.

Last time they were seen, the brothers had escaped into the ocean. Most of Petra's colleagues assumed they were dead, but Petra and her boss weren't so sure. They had survived worse in the past. Petra had found out that the currents in this particular part of the ocean lead to Nadar, so that's where she would start her search.

The problem with her colleagues' approach towards catching the Selway brothers in the past was that they never thought things through. They all just ran in, weapons brandished, fists swinging. It never worked out, and the brothers always escaped. That's why Petra had a different plan.

She wore torn clothes and sported fresh cuts and bruises, courtesy of a reluctant friend. She looked as though she had just been in a struggle.

She arrived at the shore. She created a small moat of water in order to bring her boat onto land and hide it in some underbrush nearby. In the boat was a bag containing rope, duct tape and certain useful chemicals.

Now it was time to search. Tasia noticed some disturbed vines and branches at the edge of the jungle, so they headed in that way. Sure enough, it wasn't long before she could make out some sort of man-made structure through the thick jungle. Could they be hiding there..?

Here goes nothing, she thought. "Help!" she cried out in a convincingly distressed voice. "Is anyone there!? Please, I need help!"